The Ga Mantse, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, has urged the government to dedicate itself to creating movies that will showcase some of Ghana’s forgotten legends.
During the second Africa Cinema Summit at the Movempick Hotel in Accra, the Overlord of the Ga land highlighted the importance of cinema in conserving peoples’ cultural heritage and customs. Joy FM sports writer Nathaniel Attoh read a remark on his behalf. Simultaneously, he appealed to the government to create a movie that chronicles the life of renowned Ghanaian boxer Azumah Nelson.
“One arbitrary [story], given that we are on Ga and Ga-Adamgbe country and that he is a guardian of the Ga Adamgbe culture, is the tale of Barima Professor Azumah Zumzum Nelson, a Ga native and one of the most accomplished athletes on the African continent.
His narrative is one of culture, inspiration, and African-style future projection. “This is just one of the numerous stories that the government that assumes power in 2025 can pursue with great vigor,” he stated.
Former professional Ghanaian boxer Azumah Nelson competed from 1979 to 2008. He was a two-weight world champion, having won the WBC super featherweight title twice between 1988 and 1997 and the WBC featherweight belt from 1984 to 1987. In 1990, he made one try for the combined lightweight titles of the WBC and IBF. Between 1980 and 1982, he was the regional champion in both the ABU and Commonwealth featherweight divisions. He is regarded by many as one of the all-time best African boxers.
The King talked about how the international media emphasized stories that conveyed a lot of negativity about the African continent while simultaneously expressing hope for the future of African movies. “We also remember with a lot of pain the images that have been projected in the foreign media away from the African continent, and we all do know what we are talking about. Those unfortunate images of people who are distressed and woken by the sides of the streets were in actual fact the people in Rwanda and their leadership under His Excellency President Kagame, were looking at a future or they were looking at a day like today,” he said.
King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, therefore, admonished Africans to take advantage of film as a tool for social change.
“As we embark on this journey at the Africa Cinema Summit, let us reaffirm our commitment to cinema as a vital tool for cultural preservation, economic empowerment and social transformation. The relevance of cinema cannot be overstated. It is a reflection of our past, and the representation of our present, as well as a projection of our future,” he further noted.